View full sizeDaphne, Alabama, native Islamist militant fighter Omar Hammami, known as Abu Mansour Al-Amriki, vows during a news conference at a farm in southern Mogadishu's Afgoye district on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, to avenge the killing of Osama bin Landen. Somali media have published unconfirmed reports that Hammami has been killed by his comrades. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

DAPHNE, Alabama -- Shafik Hammami has no special insights into the fate of the son he lost contact with years ago. He and his wife, like the rest of Alabama, await confirmation of reports in Somalia that Omar Hammami has been betrayed by the terrorist organization he joined in 2006.

“I have not heard anything other than what I’ve read in the newspaper,” Shafik Hammami said this afternoon from his home in Daphne. “We are like anyone else. We haven’t had any confirmation.”

Omar Hammami gained fame as the U.S.-born spokesman and military commander of al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked hard-line Islamist group that has been fight a civil war in the eastern Africa nation.

Reports surfaced in Somali media that Hammami had been killed by rival leaders of the group on April 4. Today, Fox News reported that he may have been beheaded.

U.S. officials have been unable to confirm those reports, though, and the elder Hammami said he has had no contact with the government. The last few weeks have been particularly difficult for the family, he said.

“Until we have something to go on, there’s nothing we can do,” he said.

A spokeswoman from the U.S. State Department could not immediately say what steps, if any, the U.S. government has taken to try to confirm Hammami’s death.

Hammami's death would halt efforts to prosecute him on charges from a 2007 indictment accusing him of providing material support to terrorists.

“Communications in Somalia are very difficult," U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown said. “Right now, we’re waiting to see what happens. Obviously, if he’s dead, we won’t go forward with the indictments."

If Hammami were to be executed, beheading would be a likely method, according to international terrorism experts.

But Bill Roggio, the founder and editor of an online publication called the Long War Journal, said a “very well-connected” Somali source questioned the accuracy of the reports.

Roggio said he simply does not have enough information to know whether Hammami is alive or dead. But he added would have expected some kind of official confirmation if Hammami had been executed almost 2 weeks ago. A Twitter account maintained by al-Shabaab has been silent on Hammami over the past 2 weeks.

“Typically, they like to make an example of people,” he said.

Roggio also noted that local media prematurely reported Hammami’s death about a year ago, only to have the Daphne-raised jihadist post an online video mocking those reports.

“He’s been rumored to be dead before, so that’s why I’m forced to take this with a grain of salt,” he said.

Hammami caused a stir last month when a video surfaced on the Internet showing himself speaking, in English, about is fears that his life was in danger from his al-Shabaab comrades. Somali media outlets quickly followed with conflicting reports that the organization had arrested Hammami.

Adding to the mystery, the short video contained no specifics, only vague references to differences between Hammami and other leaders over Shariah and strategy.

Roggio said it is possible that a rival — rather than a formal decision by the al-Shabaab command — killed Hammami. That would be in indication of a split within the organization, Roggio said. he cautioned that is speculation.

“These things aren’t uncommon in that world, in the jihadist world,” he said.

Leaders from the al-Shabaab took to Twitter to deny reports last month that Hammami had been arrested or that his life was in danger.

Roggio said he would place a high degree of reliability on a Twitter report by the group one way or the other on Hammami. He said the social media site is an important tool for al-Shabaab to communicate with its own members and the outside world. Putting out misinformation would undermine the group’s credibility, he said.

“Their propaganda has been fairly straightforward as far as someone’s death,” he said. “They may exaggerate the effect of something, but typically, what they say happens is true.”